Projects

Stream Restoration Projects and Aquatic Insect Studies

OBTU’s 2018 conservation activities include financial and volunteer support for projects in both Wisconsin and Michigan in support of Trout Unlimited’s mission of conserving, protecting and restoring coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in the Midwest.

Our conservation financial commitments this year include Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Restoration Effort (TUDARE); Weister Creek restoration in Vernon County, WI; continued stream restoration work in Sparta, WI; and biological monitoring and survey work on the Coldwater and Dowagiac River watersheds in Michigan.

Volunteer support is needed for our May 19 and October 13 macroinvertebrate studies on the Coldwater River Watershed in Alto, MI outside of Grand Rapids and a June 23 stream restoration work day in Sparta, WI.

In 2018 we returned to Sparta, Wisconsin to complete additional stream restoration work through both financial support of contactors and our own volunteer work day. We are also a financial supporter of the Weister Creek multi-phase stream restoration plan in the Driftless Area. Both streams are located in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.

A typical stream restoration project would include building a series of wooden lunker structures for placement in the stream bed in order to manage bank soil erosion and to create overhead cover and resting areas for fish.

Our Conservation Committee is actively pursue new conservation opportunities and associated project work days in 2018 in conjunction with TU chapters in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Oak Brook TU stream restoration work days typically consist of a few hours of light physical activity followed by a grilled lunch and member fellowship. Our events are accessible, social, educational, and valuable to the environment. Our members also typically try to schedule a little nearby fishing as part of their itinerary. Since our Wisconsin and Michigan projects are three-plus hours’ drive time from Chicago, we try to facilitate carpooling for interested members.

Trout Unlimited is America’s leading coldwater conservation organization. Our hope is that clean, cold, fishable water exists for generations to come, but we can’t do it without the support of committed anglers and conservationists like you.